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Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story): Difference between revisions
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* When the Doctor disables [[Solomon (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)|Solomon]]'s robots, they sing "[[Daisy Bell]]". | * When the Doctor disables [[Solomon (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)|Solomon]]'s robots, they sing "[[Daisy Bell]]". | ||
* Amy says that [[John Riddell|Riddell]] needs a lesson in gender politics. | * Amy says that [[John Riddell|Riddell]] needs a lesson in gender politics. | ||
* Amy refers to Ridell and Nefertiti as [[Chuckle Brothers|the Chuckle Brothers]]. | |||
=== Locations === | === Locations === | ||
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=== Biology === | === Biology === | ||
* The Doctor jokes that Brian and Rory's habit of stating the obvious is [[Hereditary traits|hereditary]]. | * The Doctor jokes that Brian and Rory's habit of stating the obvious is [[Hereditary traits|hereditary]]. | ||
=== Influences === | |||
* The title was inspired by ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snakes_on_a_Plane Snakes on a Plane].'' | |||
* John Riddell was inspired by [[Allan Quatermain]]. | |||
* The robots sing "[[Daisy Bell]]" as they shut down, in an homage HAL 9000's death scene in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey 2001: A Space Odyssey].'' Funnily enough, Brian sarcastically calls the Doctor [[Arthur C. Clarke]]. | |||
== Story notes == | == Story notes == | ||
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* [[Mark Williams]] (Brian Williams) previously played [[Maxwell Edison]] in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eternal Summer (audio story)|The Eternal Summer]]''. | * [[Mark Williams]] (Brian Williams) previously played [[Maxwell Edison]] in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Eternal Summer (audio story)|The Eternal Summer]]''. | ||
* The CGI models of the raptors are the same as those used in the show ''{{w|Primeval (TV Series)|Primeval}}''. | * The CGI models of the raptors are the same as those used in the show ''{{w|Primeval (TV Series)|Primeval}}''. | ||
* The costumes for [[Robot 1]] and [[Robot 2]] were remodelled from ones used on CBBC's ''{{w|Mission: 2110|Mission 2110}}''. | * The costumes for [[Robot 1]] and [[Robot 2]] were remodelled from ones used on CBBC's ''{{w|Mission: 2110|Mission 2110}}''. [[Neill Gorton]] of [[Millennium FX]] felt that the “Roboidz" had been underutilised on that series and could easily be retooled for use on ''Doctor Who''. | ||
* With this story, Rory became the only individual known to have travelled in the TARDIS with both his own [[Brian Williams (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)|parent]] ''and'' own [[River Song|child]]. | * With this story, Rory became the only individual known to have travelled in the TARDIS with both his own [[Brian Williams (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)|parent]] ''and'' own [[River Song|child]]. | ||
* [[Mark Williams]] and [[David Bradley]] both appeared in the [[Harry Potter]] films as Arthur Weasley and Argus Filch, respectively. | * [[Mark Williams]] and [[David Bradley]] both appeared in the [[Harry Potter]] films as [https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Arthur_Weasley Arthur Weasley] and [https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Argus_Filch Argus Filch], respectively. | ||
* [[David Bradley]] played Walder Frey in ''[[Game of Thrones]]''. [[Matt Smith]] would later play Daemon Targaryen in the prequel series ''[[House of the Dragon]]''. | * [[David Bradley]] played [https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Walder_Frey Walder Frey] in ''[[Game of Thrones]]''. [[Matt Smith]] would later play [https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Daemon_Targaryen Daemon Targaryen] in the prequel series ''[[House of the Dragon]]''. | ||
* [[Arthur Darvill]] and [[David Bradley]] would later appear in [[Chris Chibnall]]'s series ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch Broadchurch].'' | * [[Arthur Darvill]] and [[David Bradley]] would later appear in [[Chris Chibnall]]'s series ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadchurch Broadchurch].'' | ||
* [[Chris Chibnall]] envisioned Soloman Kane as "half businessman, half [[Somalia|Somali]] [[pirate]]". | |||
* [[Chris Chibnall]] knew that his episode would be one of the last to feature Rory, and so he wanted to explore the Williams family while he had the chance. | |||
* [[Chris Chibnall]] was keen to depict the Doctor adventuring with a “gang”. Its other two members were originally both real historical figures, but only Nefertiti would be included in the final narrative. | |||
* Nefertit's involvement was appealing to [[Chris Chibnall]], because she debatably disappeared from the historical record, with no clear evidence of the manner of her death. Consequently, Chibnall felt that Nefertiti could have plausibly gone off travelling with the Doctor, ending her days elsewhere in space and time. | |||
* John Riddell's role was originally frontiersman [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_%22Buffalo%22_Jones Charles “Buffalo” Jones], who helped save the American bison from extinction. However, [[Steven Moffat]] was concerned that this character was too similar to the [[Cowboy|cowboys]] of ''[[A Town Called Mercy (TV story)|A Town Called Mercy]].'' | |||
* [[Chris Chibnall]]'s intention was that Riddell had once saved the life of the Doctor, who was now giving him one last thrilling experience, because Riddell was fated to die the day after he was collected from the African plains. This backstory was eventually lost in editing. | |||
* Originally, Nefertiti knocked the Doctor out and gave her own life to destroy Solomon's ship. When this denouement was felt to be too similar to other self-sacrificial moments in the season, [[Steven Moffat]] instead suggested that the Doctor and Nefertiti could be saved by having the TARDIS materialise around them as the missiles struck Solomon's pod. Subsequently, however, Moffat decided that this approach lacked drama. He also wanted to explore what happened to the Doctor when he travelled without regular companions, and so the Doctor would now abandon Solomon to his death. | |||
* Although the realisation of the dinosaurs would be partly accomplished through practical means, a substantial amount of computer animation would also be required. To give [[The Mill]] sufficient time to complete the episode's effects work, it was decided that the episode would form part of season seven's first production block alongside ''[[A Town Called Mercy (TV story)|A Town Called Mercy]].'' | |||
* The demands of the dinosaur animation also meant that any other complex sequences had to be curtailed. As a result, [[Chris Chibnall]] had to drop a scene in which a pair of ankylosaurs inadvertently launched the TARDIS out of an airlock and into space. | |||
* Bleytal was named after [[Barry Letts]]. | |||
* Filming at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southerndown Southerndown] Beach were curtailed by rainfall. | |||
* The Silurian Ark surpassed the Underhenge set from ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]''/''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'' as the largest set ever built for the series. It was surpassed by the [[Parliament of the Daleks|Dalek Parliament]] for ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]].'' | |||
* Tricey was partly realised as an animatronic prop boasting a head designed by [[Gary Pollard]]. An alumnus of [[Jim Henson|the Jim Henson Workshop]], Pollard hewed to modern theories about triceratops physiology, although some license was taken to enlarge the eyes in order to make Tricey more endearing. | |||
* [[Steven Moffat]] said that putting dinosaurs on a spaceship was "the secret of success". | |||
* As ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]'' was a darker season premier, [[Steven Moffat]] wanted this episode to be more about fun. | |||
* In [[Steven Moffat]]'s pitch to [[Chris Chibnall]], he proposed, "Maybe it's a ship heading towards Earth, and Earth is on alert". Moffat suggested the spaceship was Silurian, and Chibnall felt that it was "a nice reveal and shows you more about them, even in a story that isn’t really about them". | |||
* [[Chris Chibnall]] suggested including a "bonkers" gang of characters picked from around time and space. He felt that ''Doctor Who'' could have "collisions of characters that no other show in the world can do", and that it was about finding a "disparate" group of characters who would "bounce" off each other. | |||
* [[Rupert Graves]] had previously played [https://bakerstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Greg_Lestrade Greg Lestrade] in [[Steven Moffat]]'s ''[[Sherlock (series)|Sherlock]].'' | |||
* [[Caroline Skinner]] called the casting of [[David Mitchell (actor)|David Mitchell]] and [[Robert Webb]] as the robots "perfect". | |||
* The production team had to be mindful of the series' budget when planning the effects and sets; [[Chris Chibnall]] commented that "it would be very easy to spend £300m on this, but we don’t have it". As such, the dinosaurs could not dominate the episode, and Chibnall had to tell "a big other story". | |||
* The scene where Amy, Riddell, and Nefertiti stumble upon a sleeping [[Tyrannosaurus rex]] was almost cut, as it was originally intended to feature CGI raptors, which were too expensive. However, [[Millennium FX]] realised they could use a baby T-Rex that had been in an exhibit they designed. | |||
* [[Matt Smith]] had to wear padded trousers when riding the triceratops, and recalled it was "a painful couple of hours, a laugh though and definitely worth it". | |||
* Half of the triceratops was actually built and pushed by crewmen when [[Matt Smith]], [[Arthur Darvill]], and [[Mark Williams]] were riding it. The rest of it was filled in with [[CGI]] by [[The Mill]]. | |||
* John Riddell was written for a man in his thirties. [[Rupert Graves]] was forty-eight at the time. | |||
* The Doctor snogging Rory was ad-libbed by [[Matt Smith]]. [[Arthur Darvill]]'s reaction was genuine. | |||
=== Ratings === | === Ratings === | ||
* | * The episode was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on [[BBC One]] on 8 September 2012, and on the same date on [[BBC America]] in the United States. Overnight ratings showed that it had been watched by 5.5 million viewers live in the UK. Final consolidated ratings rose to 7.57 million viewers.<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date Doctor Who Ratings - UK final]</ref> The episode also received 1.8 million requests during the month of September on [[BBC iPlayer]], placing it second on the chart behind "''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]''". It also received an Appreciation Index of 87, considered "excellent". | ||
* In Canada, on Space, the episode was watched by an average calculation of 575,000 viewers, making it the most watched item on the channel that week. | * In Canada, on Space, the episode was watched by an average calculation of 575,000 viewers, making it the most watched item on the channel that week. | ||
